Live Fantasy Football drafting will take place before you know it, so now is the perfect time to practice drafting strategies in mock drafts. Some people feel it best to secure one of those elite, top fantasy scoring quarterbacks within the first few draft rounds, and others would rather build their roster up, then choose a reputable quarterback in the latest round possible.
In this mock draft for which I participated, I resisted choosing my starting quarterback until the tenth round. Here are the results of a 12-person points per reception (PPR) draft where I had the third pick.
1.3 Matt Forte, Running Back, Chicago Bears
I could have went with Adrian Peterson, but after his last season, I like Forte better, especially in a PPR league as a pass-catcher too. Forte ranked third in fantasy points last year, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t produce results similar to 2013.
2.10 Alshon Jeffery, Wide Receiver, Chicago Bears
Jeffery was a surprise sleeper last year, earning him status as a dependable WR1 for 2014. I could have picked Randall Cobb here, but decided to take my chances with Jeffery, who should be on course for another awesome season.
3.3 Alfred Morris, Running Back, Washington Redskins
Morris always seems to fall to me, and I don’t mind taking this guy in the third round as another sturdy RB1 choice. Without former Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan pulling running back switches, Morris should see numbers more like his rookie season, where he had 1,613 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Plus Morris may get involved in catching passes also.
4.10 Cordarrelle Patterson, Wide Receiver, Minnesota Vikings
This is a bit risky, but Patterson could payoff big this season now that he is being eased out of his return duties. He’s incredibly fast and under Norv Turner now, his receptions should increase. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see Patterson and Teddy Bridgewater in action together.
5.3 Toby Gerhart, Running Back, Jacksonville Jaguars
Gerhart is the main man in Jacksonville now, no longer Peterson’s backup. During his four years in Minnesota, he averaged 4.7 yards per carry. He should make an adequate flex option on fantasy rosters.
6.10 Jeremy Maclin, Wide Receiver, Philadelphia Eagles
Coming back from missing last season, Maclin will resume the No. 1 wide receiving duties. Working under quarterback Nick Foles should do wonders for his fantasy production.
7.3 Jason Witten, Tight End, Dallas Cowboys
I could have waited a little longer on a tight end, but since Witten was till available in round seven, I grabbed him, especially since I am gambling a little with my WR’s. With 73 receptions last year, Witten should continue to be targeted plenty by Tony Romo who threw 31 touchdowns in 2013, the fifth highest of the quarterbacks.
8.10 Carlos Hyde, Running Back, San Francisco 49ers
Hyde is a proving to be a multi-functional rookie running back, as he has been pass-catching also during the teams’ minicamp. Obviously, Frank Gore is still in the picture, but Hyde might just be too talented to not to plug into the 49ers offense every now and then to keep Gore fresh.
9.3 Eric Decker, Wide Receiver, New York Jets
Geno Smith and Michael Vick are definitely not Peyton Manning, even combined, or riding piggy-back together, but Decker is the No. 1 receiver for the team. Picking him as a WR3 with possible WR2 upside in round nine isn’t too bad of an investment.
10.10 Philip Rivers, Quarterback, San Diego Chargers
So here it is. I purposely held out and picked my starting quarterback in round 10, and chose Rivers. The guy was surprising impressive in 2013, finishing sixth among quarterbacks with 4,478 passing yards and 32 touchdowns. With the emergence of Keenan Allen, along with tight end, Ladarius Green in the making, Rivers should remain consistent again in 2014.
11.3 Andy Dalton, Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals
Not to let any more quality quarterbacks slip away, I doubled up with Dalton here, who could obviously be swapped out with Rivers at any given week to start my fantasy team. In fact, Dalton actually ranked ahead of Rivers at fifth among quarterbacks last year. Dalton’s turnovers are a concern, but being in his last year of his rookie contract, he knows he will have to buckle down. Dalton also has an incredible offense to work with too with fine examples like A.J. Green and Giovani Bernard.
12.10 LeGarrette Blount, Running Back, Pittsburgh Steelers
Blount is a bulldozer in the red zone, which is how I hope Pittsburgh will use him during late downs. At this point, I’m just adding RB depth to my roster.
13.3 Arizona Cardinals Defense
Taking the sixth-ranked Cardinals defense as the overall seventh defense chosen is about par for the course here.
14.10 Dan Bailey, Kicker, Dallas Cowboys
Bailey always sees plenty of field goal opportunities with a team who moves the ball around as much as Dallas does. Interesting little fact to note, is that Bailey scored 22 fantasy points in Week 15 last year against Green Bay, when the Cowboys could barely make a touchdown to save their lives.
15.3 Jerricho Cotchery, Wide Receiver, Carolina Panthers
Merely more depth with this pick, as Cotchery could be a sleeper under Cam Newton this season.
With my draft choices, I would build my starting roster as follows:
QB Philip Rivers
RB Matt Forte
RB Alfred Morris
WR Alshon Jeffery
WR Cordarrelle Patterson
Flex Either Jeremy Maclin or Toby Gerhart
TE Jason Witten
DEF Arizona Cardinals
K Dan Bailey
These are the draft results using the strategy of waiting to pick a quarterback until the latest round possible. Take note that I have fifth and sixth-ranked fantasy football quarterbacks from 2013 on my roster with Dalton and Rivers, chosen in rounds 10 and 11. Combined, they threw for 8,774 yards and had 55 touchdowns total last season.
Whether you feel the need to lock in that elite quarterback right away, or take a chance and wait on your quarterback, the point to keep in mind, is there is no right or wrong drafting strategy in fantasy football. This is why practicing mock drafts is helpful so you can watch the drafting trends and find out what strategy best works for you.
These are the complete results of my mock draft.